The Whole Truth is the sophomore feature
for director Courtney Hunt, whose first film (Frozen River)
was made eight years ago, as well as featuring Renée Zellweger’s first screen
performance in six years. Despite the long break for both director and co-star,
The Whole Truth feels like a minor
entry into a courtroom procedural television show with new stories every week.
No amount of star power can save the film from a lackluster screenplay whose
revelations don’t feel worth the time commitment of the film’s running time.

Keanu Reeves
gives an intentionally stiff performance as Ramsey, the defense attorney at the
center of a mysterious murder case involving one of his colleagues. Daniel
Craig was originally signed on for this role, replaced by Reeves a mere four
days before the start of production. This may be part of the reason why Reeves
seems to be dialing in his performance, though he receives little help from the
film’s script in terms of character development. Part of the problem with The Whole Truth is that it has tunnel
vision with the narrative, never giving the audience enough reason to care
about the courtroom results by never giving the audience a reason to care about
the characters involved.

Ramsey is
conveniently present during several of the flashbacks recalled during the
trial, as a friend of the murder victim and defendant to the son accused of
murdering him. Through these recollections of the past, we discover that fellow
lawyer Boone (Jim Belushi) was an abusive husband to his wife (Zellweger) and
an oppressive father to his son, Mike (Gabriel Basso). Mike is the one on trial
for his father’s murder, though he refuses to talk to Ramsey, who is defending
him. As more information is revealed about the case, it becomes clear that
nobody is telling the entire truth (a.k.a. the whole truth), and Ramsey sets
out to exploit the secrets of each witness to benefit his client.

Struggling
lawyer Janelle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) joins the defense team as a way to make Mike
appear more sympathetic, fighting to build back a career which was destroyed by
poor personal choices that seem completely out of character. There is simply
not enough time spent on backstory for any character development to have real
significance on the storyline, and Janelle ends up feeling more like a prop in
the narrative. None of the characters really exist beyond the courtroom
mystery, making it difficult to be concerned with what happens to them.

The Blu-ray for The Whole Truth includes a Digital HD
copy of the film. Drably shot, the high definition presentation is all but
wasted on this film. Although not a complete waste of time, The Whole Truth ends up feeling like a
filler piece of entertainment; something to watch when there are no better options.
It isn’t completely terrible, but it is easily forgettable.